Plastic containers have gained wide acceptance in the fast food industry, and many arrangements have been proposed for conveniently dispensing of a container by withdrawing the last cup from the column of cups appropriately supported in that dispenser. Typically and perhaps the most popular of container dispensers are cup dispensers, which include a tubular-like body member of a stainless or other metal, which provide a housing for a stack of nest containers. The body member includes a cup biasing means at one end thereof and an open end through which containers are loaded and dispensed. The open end includes a metal collar arrangement with flat metal separate fingers secured to the collar. These spring fingers releasably retain containers in the body and the fingers are secured by any suitable means such as spot welding. Other metal spring fingers are secured to the outside of the body used to secure the dispenser in a counter or wall. Conatiner dispensers of this type work satisfactorily, however, the cost for the same and the amount of skill in the manufacture thereof render them expensive to produce.
The present inventor advantageously used the low cost capabilities of flow molding extrusions, where outside tolerances can be fairly well maintained, in forming of at least the body member of the dispenser. The blow molding extrusion operation greatly simplifies the formation of deformations for maintaining the containers or cups in the dispenser, as well as conveniently allows the forming of stop faces used to retain the dispenser in a counter.
According to an aspect of the invention, the collar of the dispenser is also made of a plastic material and made by injection molding. The collar has a snap ring associated with an interior portion of the collar, which cooperates with a snap recess in the exterior of the body member adjacent the open end thereof. The parts are then snapped together and the biasing means may be inserted in the body member to complete the assembly operation.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a mounting insert is provided for reception in a counter or other flat surface by means of which the container dispenser is secured.
In a container dispensing system according to the present invention, a mounting insert for reception in a flat surface is used to receive a container dispenser. The mounting insert comprises a seating flange having a downwardly extending tubular locating inset at the interior of the seating flange.
This tubular locating inset has a plurality of recesses spaced thereabout with spring fingers disposed therein and extending inwardly at a shallow angle past the tubular locating inset. Each finger is connected to a generally vertical edge of one of the recesses with an opposite end of said finger being free and movable into the associated recess.
Each recess includes an inwardly extending vertical stop face adjacent said free end of the finger for providing a rotational stop for the dispenser.
The present invention is also directed to the combination of a container dispenser and a mounting insert. The container dispenser comprises a one piece tubular-like body of a plastic material having an open end and a generally closed end, a collar means applied to the open end and extending outwardly to define a flat surface engaging member about the open end. A biasing means interior to the body urges containers to the open end of the body.
The body at the open end thereof includes a plurality of inward container engaging deformations integral with the body, and a plurality of outward deformations each having an inwardly extending slot region.
The collar means is secured to the body adjacent the open end of the body and providing a mouth through which containers can be dispensed.
The mounting insert comprises a seating flange having a downwardly extending tubular locating inset at the interior of the circular seating flange.
The tubular locating inset has a number of recesses spaced thereabout with spring fingers disposed therein and extending inwardly at a shallow angle past said tubular locating inset, each finger being connected to a generally vertical edge of one of the recesses with an opposite end of the finger being free.
Each recess includes an inwardly extending vertical stop face adjacent the free end of the finger.
The tubular locating inset is sized to receive the tubular like body with the spring fingers being engagable with the slot regions of the outward deformations when the body is appropriately received in the insert to exert a gripping force thereon with the stop faces of the insert engaging a side portion of the outward deformations to limit the extent of rotation of the dispenser relative to the insert.